Hello. My name is Amadeus and I am new to SRK and this forum. However, I am not new to the fighting game scene in terms of watching tournament streams and being an active player. I, like many of you perhaps, have acquired a degree of involvement and a love for the fighting game community.
A question was proposed concerning the quality of commentary during fighting game tournaments. I’m not here to argue any major points that have been made or debate the question. I am here to propose an idea that struck me when thinking of the quandaries the community has found itself in. Many questions have been thought about in terms of those quandaries. Do we emulate the structures of more successful venues such as Starcraft? Do we maintain this strange measure between professional and casual in our commentary? Or do we execute new ideas in the hopes of developing our own method of tournament exposure and entertainment? As a member of the fighting game community I feel inclined to bring my contributions to the questions at hand, not to be pretentious, but to excite new ideas and hopefully influence this community that I enjoy.
Before I write out my suggestion, I would like to mention beforehand it’s initial absurdity. After going over the input of various players, commentators and tournament managers, I’ve come up with an idea that perhaps satisfies the desire for both professional execution and preservation of hype. Many of those who participate in tournaments and have a history with them all describe a unique and electric element that separates the fighting game community from it’s other neighboring venues - hype. The arcade environment. The humorous and witty aggression that accompanies two players battling out for money or pride. The engaged audience that gasps and yells with every moment. There is nothing in other venues of professional gaming entertainment that quite emulate this specific element. It has grown and developed over years of rivalry, close involvement and colloquial terminology. It is obvious that the proprietors of the fighting game scene do not want the personality of our community to be mired with cold, placid exposure and commentary. So what do we do? What is the compromise? I mentioned my proposal and here it is: What if the fighting game entertainment structure was more like professional wrestling?
Now before you misinterpret the idea and think that I’m suggesting the flamboyant aspect of it, don’t presume that is what I mean. And if someone else has mentioned something like this before, I apologize for not being aware. What I mean specifically is the exposure that each participant of a match gets before said match. Not all of you may have watched professional wrestling as kid like I have, or maybe you even still do now. Whether or not you have, it can be safe to say that you are aware of the extravagant and entertaining segments of trash talking that occurred from various wrestlers prior to their match. Hulk Hogan coined many phrases during his reign of the wrestling scene. As did Macho Man, The Rock, and many more. These personalities and phrases even have become parts of our pop culture. What I am suggesting to emulate is not the over-the-top introductions or fake storylines or orchestrated rivalries. What I am suggesting is that between matches, we get to know the players. Who is Clockwork and why does he want a salty runback from Combofiend? Who is Yipes and where did curly mustache come from? Expose the community. Expose the players and the people who love the scene. Between each match we can get to know the players before their upcoming round. We get to know whats at stake. Mostly this has been the responsibility of great commentators such as UltraDavid and James Chen, but they have admitted to the short time in which they can speak being detrimental to both providing professional, informative commentary and still preserving the hype. Perhaps we should emulate the arcade environment as much as possible - because it is precisely what makes the fighting game scene unique. Let the observers get just as invested as the players are. Let them feel the tension in every match while at the same time acquired a better understanding from the game via commentary.
This is my idea and I hope you have taken the time to read it. I would like to know your thoughts about it.
pherai
2
Oh ya I’d LOOOOOOVE for fighting game tournaments to be more about the dorks who play them moreso than the game themselves. and even if i were seriously down with that, wrestling works because the performers are charismatic people. sf top players generally aren’t charismatic at all. trust me the novelty and laughs of idiots cutting pathetic and lame promos quickly runs out and all you’re left with is some pathetic and lame.
god fuck kiets for all these stupid threads
Saying that all top Street Fighter players aren’t charismatic is simply untrue. Cross Counter is a great example of two players using the internet and natural charisma to expose players in the scene and introduce the community to a new audience. To state that the scene is without people who possess the ability to represent it with integrity is short-sighted and petty.
And if you think a thread asking for insightful input to improve the community as a whole is stupid, I’d hate to see a smart thread.
